Month: January 2024

It’s All in a Word: Context

Ever since the controversy surrounding colleges and universities in the US about verbiage used in some classrooms. Professors have been accused of prejudice, bias, and bigotry for the use of certain material, and even the use of certain words!

As a former college professor, I am keenly aware of and sensitive to how things have changed in my years in the classroom, and how the margin for “error” in all things communicative, has narrowed to a mere sliver.

The word that most describes the critical aspect of communication is context. As I humbly see it, the inclusion of clear context today rarely exists.

So, along with a little research I did on the word context, I poked around a reputable dictionary and compared its results with that of an AI tool. The results scared me.

What do you think?

Britannica Dictionary definition of CONTEXT

1 : the words that are used with a certain word or phrase and that help to explain its meaning

  • To really know a word, you must be able to use it in context. [=in a sentence with other words]

◊ If the words that someone has said are taken or quoted out of context, they are repeated without explaining the situation in which they were said so that their meaning is changed.

  • When taken out of context, his comments sound cruel, but he was really only joking.
  • The actor claimed he’d been quoted out of context.

2 : the situation in which something happens : the group of conditions that exist where and when something happens

  • We need to look at the event within the larger/broader context of world history.
  • The book puts these events in their proper historical and social contexts.
  • We need to consider these events in context.

The above, as noted, is from the Britannica Dictionary, and the formatting was exactly as shown here.

In contrast, here is the definition of context from the AI tool:

Context refers to the set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event, situation, statement, or piece of information. It provides the framework or background that helps in understanding and interpreting the meaning of something. Context can include various elements such as the time, place, people involved, historical background, cultural nuances, and other relevant factors that contribute to the overall understanding of a situation.

In communication, understanding the context is crucial for accurately interpreting messages, as the meaning of words or actions can vary depending on the context in which they occur. Context helps to clarify ambiguity, resolve potential misunderstandings, and provide a more complete picture of the information being conveyed.

The Perfect Pen, Part 2 (3 or 4?)

Many moons ago, I wrote about my rabid quest to find the perfect pen. Not a surprising thing for a writer who grew up from a kid who luxuriated in books, notepads, and all things literary and written. Would you believe I still have 6 books from my 6th grade Scholastic Books summer reading list? I remember my anticipation of the arrival of my order, and how I would immediately set about smelling the pages to determine which book I would read first.

Yes, I still smell books, and am drawn to the thicker and smellier ones! And I write every day in my journal, and read, usually 2 or three books at a time. I have a house full of books (a bitch to dust), some of which I even use as side tables in my living room.

Back to pens. The quest has ended! Can you believe it?

First, about the future of pens. It is numbered. And this I lament for all the kids who will never have the luxury of feeling a pen on paper, smelling its ink, and trying to always improve their handwriting. (Handwriting? What’s that you say?) The world of AI and smart devices is, and probably mostly has, replaced the writing tools I grew up with. I feel truly sorry for them.

For me? Pens will never go away. Nor will my notepads or my paper books (Red faced and truth be told, I do succumb to reading on my Kindle when I’m on my elliptical machine).

And now, I feel like I need a drum-roll here: After years of searching, and buying fountain pens, gel pens, roller balls, markers, and even pencils, I have come back to the pen that gave me thrills and comfort when I was a grammar school kid: The BIC Crystal stick pen! How ironic is that?